AFTER months of disarray, a probe floating in deep space has resumed normal transmissions back to Earth.
Nasa announced Friday that its Voyager 1 spacecraft was fully operational for the first time in months.
“We’re back, baby!” the agency proclaimed on X, formerly Twitter.
“Our Voyager 1 spacecraft is conducting normal science operations for the first time since November 2023.”
All four of Voyager’s instruments, which examine plasma waves, magnetic fields, and particles, were returning “usable” data, the agency said.
The probe’s operations faltered when a technical issue arose at the end of last year.
Voyager 1 began transmitting gibberish back to Earth – seemingly spelling the end of its historic mission.
The mission team asked the spacecraft to return engineering data, which includes information about its health and status, and partially fixed the issue in April.
Two of the probe’s science instruments returned to their normal operating modes, but the other two needed additional work.
Just last month, engineers executed the second step of the repair process and beamed a command to the spacecraft to begin returning science data.
Despite the accomplishment, minor work is still required. Engineers plan to undertake a series of tasks in the near future.
This includes resynchronizing timekeeping software in the spacecraft’s onboard computers so they can execute commands at the correct time.
The team will also repair the digital tape recorder, which gathers data for a plasma wave instrument that sends information to Earth twice per year.
Voygaer 1 blasted off on September 5, 1977, from Cape Canaveral in Florida, a launch site frequented by SpaceX.
The probe’s launch came on the heels of its sister craft, Voyager 2, which took off on August 20. This year will mark their 47th year of operation.
In addition to being Nasa’s longest running and most distant spacecraft, the pair are the only ones to directly sample interstellar space.
This term denotes the region outside the heliosphere, or the region around the Sun and solar system influenced by magnetic fields and solar wind.
No spacecraft has gone further than Voyager 1, which is currently more than 15 billion miles from Earth. Voyager 2, by comparison, is more than 12 billion miles away.
Both probes coasted past Jupiter and Saturn, while Voyager 2 also passed Uranus and Neptune.
Voyager 1 is known for discovering a thin ring around Jupiter and two moons called Thebe and Metis.
The probe also located five new moons and the G-ring around Saturn.
Voyager 1 timeline
Here’s a look at Nasa’s most distant probe, which is currently exploring deep space
September 1977: Voyager 1 takes off from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, now Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, in Florida. It is carried aboard a Titan IIIE-Centaur rocket.
March 1979: Voyager 1 makes its closest approach to Jupiter.
November 1980: The spacecraft makes its closest approach to Saturn.
December 2004: Voyager 1 reaches crosses the termination shock – the first boundary denoting the end of the solar system – into the heliosheath.
August 2012: Voyager 1 enters interstellar space for the first time.
September 2017: Nasa scientists celebrate four decades since the spacecraft’s launch.
November 2023: An onboard computer malfunctions and Voyager 1 begins sending nonsensical data back to Earth.
June 14, 2024: After a series of repairs, the probe is declared fully operational for the first time in more than half a year.
IN THE FUTURE: Scientists predict the spacecraft will reach the inner edge of the Oort Cloud – a shell of icy bodies surrounding the solar system – in 300 years
Each craft carries a gold-plated phonograph record of sights and sounds on Earth in case life is encountered in deep space.
The record’s contents were selected by a committee headed by Cornell University‘s Carl Sagan.
The contents include 115 images and spoken greetings in 55 languages.
Dr. Thomas Hughes is a UK-based scientist and science communicator who makes complex topics accessible to readers. His articles explore breakthroughs in various scientific disciplines, from space exploration to cutting-edge research.
